


All the King’s Horses

by hawk_soaring



Category: Keeper ‘Verse, NCIS
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-12
Updated: 2013-05-12
Packaged: 2017-12-11 17:08:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/801093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hawk_soaring/pseuds/hawk_soaring
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something is bothering Jason and his Master needs to take him apart in order to right things…</p>
            </blockquote>





	All the King’s Horses

Title: All the King’s Horses  
Author: hawk_soaring  
Fandom: NCIS, Keeper ‘Verse  
Pairing: Tom Morrow/ Jason  
Rating: FRM  
Summary: Something is bothering Jason and his Master needs to take him apart in order to right things…  
Word Count: 2,348  
A/N: For [](http://morgan-cian.livejournal.com/profile)[**morgan_cian**](http://morgan-cian.livejournal.com/) who wanted Keeper ‘verse… Tom/ Jason.

~*~*~  


University. A teeming mass of freemen and slaves, working, living and loving together; all striving toward betterment of themselves and/ or their masters. Jason had been thrust into this mass of humanity, had wanted it with a fervor that had astounded him and amused his master. And now, now when he was so close to fulfilling his dreams of getting his Doctorate in Music, he was having trouble. Sure, his trouble stemmed more from fear than anything else – fear of success, fear of his success changing things between his master and himself, fear of losing the one thing in his life that mattered the most to him – Tom Morrow.

~*~*~

Tom watched Jason breeze through his classes, working his ass off and reaping the rewards. Jason was talented, motivated – and sexy as hell. And he was his – all his. Tom’s hand strayed to his cock, stroking it lightly as he thought about his slave.

He was sitting by the pool, out behind the house he’d rented in Bloomfield, Indiana. Taking a sabbatical so Jason could get his doctorate had been a tough decision, but one he couldn’t bring himself to regret. At first, Jason had blossomed in the collegiate setting. He was a dedicated student and a brilliant musician – and belonged to him.

So why was he sitting poolside and brooding? Because something was up with his boy, damn it. Something was wrong and Jason hadn’t confided in him about it. Instead, Jason had carried the burden alone, getting progressively quieter as time went on and, while Tom had decided to let Jason deal with whatever it was that was bothering him, it had gone far enough. It was time for Tom to step in and take charge of his boy again – and get to the bottom of whatever it was that was eating him up inside.

The soft sound of the door opening and then closing made Tom aware that the afternoon had passed. He wasn’t concerned at the sound. The door was kept locked and it was time for Jason to be home. Lifting the watch that sat on the small table beside the lounge chair he was ensconced in, Tom frowned. It was past time for his boy to be home.

Getting to his feet, Tom sighed. It looked like getting to the bottom of Jason’s problems would take place sooner rather than later.

Walking into the house, Tom was stopped in his tracks by the sight of Jason standing in the entryway – fully dressed and staring into the mirror that hung just inside the door. Jason’s shoulders were hunched and Tom watched as his boy sighed softly, shaking his head slowly as if berating himself for some imagined infraction.

Jason wiped at his eyes, wiping his hands on the ass of his black jeans before starting to unbutton his shirt. As Tom took a step back, stepping into the shadows of the kitchen, Jason slipped the shirt from his shoulders and turned from the mirror. Tom watched as Jason walked into the half bath, his hands going to the waistband of his jeans as he stepped from Tom’s sight.

Tom walked into the living room and sank down into his favorite chair. Jason’s actions had convinced him that he wasn’t crazy. Something was definitely wrong – something that Jason felt he couldn’t confide to his master. It was up to Master to ferret out what the problem was and to help Jason to deal with it. They couldn’t go on the way they were.

When Jason entered the living room, he stopped briefly in the doorway before walking forward and sinking to his knees, bowing his head and folding his arms at his back. Tom watched curiously. Sure, Jason’s form was nearly impeccable as was the norm, but this time he was looking closer. Today he was looking for some small sign that all was not well with his slave. Unfortunately, he didn’t have to look far. It was there, in the tension in Jason’s muscles, the slight darkness under his eyes, the way he had trudged across the floor to fall to his knees, the gracefulness he usually displayed nearly nonexistent. There was no joy in his submission, merely resignation and Tom had to wonder just how much he’d taken for granted to have missed this lack in his slave.

Tom sighed softly, wincing when he saw Jason flinch at the sound. He’d messed up somehow and now he needed to fix things.

“Jason,” Tom said quietly. “Look at me.” He saw the hesitation before Jason lifted his head. Jason’s gaze was flat, tired. When his gaze met Jason’s, Tom pointed to the spot between his feet.

Jason blinked once slowly before shifting on his knees, moving forward until he was between Tom’s legs. Jason had lowered his gaze again and Tom saw that he was trembling slightly.

“Who did this to you?” Tom murmured as he reached out and ran his fingers through Jason’s hair, finger-combing it gently. Jason stilled, almost pulling away from his hand before relaxing with a nearly inaudible sigh and pressing up into his hand slightly. Tom smiled sadly as he continued to pet his slave.

After a minute Tom stopped petting Jason and sat back in his chair. Jason had stopped trembling under his touch and was now kneeling silently in front of him. His slave had tensed slightly when the petting stopped, but a soft murmur had relaxed him again and now Tom was simply watching him – waiting.

Jason was nothing if not stubborn and Tom wasn’t surprised that it took a full ten minutes for him to break form. The first sign that Jason was ready was a minute shifting of his hips. A few seconds later, he shifted his weight slightly, moving his knees a little closer together. A soft nudge to the inside of Jason’s thigh by Tom’s booted foot made Jason shift again, an almost aggrieved-sounding sigh falling from his lips as he moved his knees further apart again.

Another minute passed before Jason’s hands twitched, his left hand losing grip on his right wrist. His shoulders trembled and still Tom waited. Jason’s fingers scrabbled against his damp flesh, digging into his wrist as he sought to keep form. And then the unthinkable happened: his hands dropped, fingers losing their grip. His head bowed as he bent forward, wrapping his arms around his own body and curling in on himself, his head buried against his knees, his shoulders shaking with the first of his sobs.

In an instant, Tom was on the floor next to Jason, gently unfolding the lithe, lean body and pulling his slave onto his own lap. Tom smiled as Jason’s arms snaked around his waist and he began to rock slightly in response.

“Sh, it’s okay,” he murmured. “Talk to me, Jase. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Jason’s muffled sobs reached Tom’s ears and he tightened his grip on his slave. “S-sorry, Master,” Jason mumbled.

Tom shifted Jason on his lap so he could peer down into Jason’s face. “Sorry about what?” he asked gently.

Jason looked away from Tom briefly, sighing softly. “I –“ he began hesitantly. “I – I’m having trouble i-in one of my classes, Master.”

“Teacher trouble?” Tom asked gently as he tried to imagine which of Jason’s teachers could be giving his slave trouble. They had all seemed very eager to please when he’d met them – and hadn’t given his boy any trouble thus far. What would prompt trouble now – when Jason was nearly three quarters of the way through with his degree? Suddenly an idea blossomed. “You aren’t having class work troubles are you?” he asked gently as he ran his fingers through Jason’s hair.

“N-no, Master,” Jason said. “My teachers are w-wonderful – a-and I love my class work.”

“Yet you’re having trouble in a class, Jason. Explain please.”

Jason blushed and pushed away from Tom’s embrace, pulling his knees under him and settling back on his haunches. “M –“ He hesitated, biting his lip uneasily for a moment.

“Spill, Jason,” Tom said, his tone brooking no argument. “If it isn’t a professor and it isn’t a class –“ Tom hesitated, thinking for a moment of all the possibilities and discounting most almost immediately. “Another student,” he said softly.

Jason whimpered softly and Tom seethed silently. Another student was upsetting his boy – and Tom had to guess for the truth to come out. He could almost see Jason not wanting to rat out another student – thinking it would ostracize him even further if it was found out that a mere slave got a student in trouble – especially a free student. But the teachers? They were honor-bound to care for their students and oath-bound to watch out for the slaves in their classes. Tom vowed he would have the job of the asshole who let his boy suffer in silence – right after he taught Jason a lesson about keeping secrets from his Master.

~*~*~

Tom made one phone call to the President of the university before turning to his slave again. “You lied to me,” he said quietly.

“Yes, Master,” Jason said. “I’m so—“

“Don’t!” Tom interrupted. He looked down at Jason as he knelt so submissively at his feet. “Come.”

Tom didn’t look back as he walked from the room, climbing the stairs steadily. He didn’t have to. The whisper of Jason’s knees on the carpet was loud in his ears as his slave followed behind him.

The playroom was on the third floor and he knew that Jason’s knees would feel it by the time they arrived – especially at the pace he was setting. Knowing this didn’t slow him down, however – mostly because Jason would know if he was taking it easy on him. He would know and he would lose some faith in his Master. Tom knew he would never put Jason in the position to doubt him – not if it was within his power to prevent such a calamity.

The bonds were leather and Jason kissed them reverently before they were fastened around his wrists and his ankles. He stood meekly in the center of the room, raising his arms so Tom could fasten the chains that were lowered from the high ceiling to the D-rings at his wrists. He widened his stance as Tom fastened his ankle cuffs to a spreader bar. Tom affixed the bar to the ring set into the floor boards before retracting the chains hanging from the ceiling, stretching Jason up onto his toes and watching him sway slightly as he fought to keep his balance.

Tom waited, watching as Jason settled into his bonds, before picking up the flogger. “Do you know why you are being punished?” he asked.

Jason took a deep breath and nodded. “Be-because I wasn’t honest with you, Master.”

Tom nodded. He could press the issue but he wasn’t going to be cruel. This was about punishment, not torture. He looked into Jason’s eyes, long enough to see his slave’s resolve and, when Jason lowered his gaze, Tom walked around behind him, running his hands over his slave’s back and placing a light kiss between his shoulderblades before stepping back and measuring his distance with a light flick of the flogger.

Tom nodded once when Jason’s skin rippled at the light contact, the muscles contracting slightly as he flinched. And then he began in earnest, raining blows down on Jason’s exposed skin, the leather of the flogger slapping rhythmically. His arm was beginning to ache when he heard the first sob. Picking up the pace, he watched as the faint pink welts darkened under the lash. And then Jason cried out, his voice hoarse, angry and hurting and Tom dropped the flogger at his feet. Moving quickly to release his boy, he cradled Jason in his arms, soothing away the hurt and the tears.

~*~*~

Jason wasn’t penalized by the university for missing two days of classes. An inquiry into the events leading up to his punishment led to the expulsion of a free student and the censure of not one but two full-tenured professors. Tom’s displeasure was well documented and the new instructors were hired as much for their ability to deal with talented slaves as for their brilliance in the field of music.

Jason’s remaining months of study passed in a frenzy of study, composing and performance and, at the end of it all, the diploma was more than just a piece of paper – it was an affirmation of his abilities and his Master’s belief in him as a person. Packing the last of his belongings in the crates, he looked around the empty house. He’d lived in this place for just under two years yet it felt like a lifetime. As much as this place had become home to him, it was only home because his Master had lived here with him. Moving back to DC would be the icing on the cake of his accomplishments. His Master was starting back at NCIS in less than a week and, more than anything else, Jason wanted to be able to curl up at his Master’s feet after a long day at work, rub his feet, and listen while his Master told him about his day. If he was very lucky he would have been able to accompany his Master to work and sit silently beside his desk. But he knew he couldn’t be that lucky every day. On those days he didn’t accompany his Master to work he would be allowed to perform or teach – or any of a myriad of other tasks his talent and his doctorate would allow. His simple life was about to get a whole lot more complicated – and he couldn’t be happier about it.

END


End file.
